Pain guide · Back pain

Lower back pain when doing lunges: the arch, the trunk lean, the back hip, stance and balance

Lower back pain when you lunge usually comes from how the lunge is shaped rather than from the lunge itself. The back leg's hip only has so much room to straighten, so a long stride with the back hip pushed through can make the lower back arch to make up the difference, and a big forward lean with a weight, or a weight held on one side, can make the back muscles work harder. Where it hurts is the best clue: an ache across the lower back after walking or weighted lunges is usually the back muscles or ordinary back pain, one side below the belt by the dimple at the back of the pelvis points to the sacroiliac (SI) joint, and pain or tingling down one leg to a nerve. Split squats and reverse lunges, a controlled stride, the ribs down and a dumbbell in each hand usually help. No study has counted back pain from lunges, so this guide says where each piece of advice comes from.

This guide starts with the signs that need help, from a 999 call for numbness around the genitals or bottom, new bladder or bowel trouble or weakness in both legs, to the hernia warning signs and a same-day check through the National Health Service's 111 line (NHS 111) or a general practitioner (GP) for back pain with a fever, after a fall, or with leg weakness that's getting worse. It then maps the causes by where it hurts, explains what the lab studies show about the stride, the lean, the stance and where you hold the weight, and what the evidence says about tight hip flexors and pelvic tilt, shows how to change your lunge today, and gives a three-stage plan with a 3D demo of every move, from split squats back to walking and weighted lunges.

3-stage exercise plan When to get help 42 sourcesUpdated 28 October 2026

When to get help first

Exercise is for pain that has been checked or is clearly mild and settling.

Get urgent medical help if

Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E: back pain with chest pain, or back pain that started after a serious accident, such as a car crash.
Same day (NHS 111): back pain after a new, significant injury in the last 7 days, such as a fall from a height (off a box, a bar or rings) or a direct blow to the back.
Call 999 or go to A&E: severe hip pain after a fall or injury, or you cannot stand, walk or put weight on the leg. In an older adult this can be a broken hip; the leg may be at an odd angle or look shorter. Don't drive yourself.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): back pain and you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or severe pain that starts suddenly or is getting worse quickly.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have severe hip pain that started suddenly but you've not had a fall or injured your hip, your hip is swollen and feels hot, the skin around your hip has changed colour, or you have hip pain, feel generally unwell and have a high temperature (or feel hot, cold or shivery). A hot, swollen hip with a high temperature can be a joint infection.
Same day: leg weakness that is getting worse; new leg pain with a history of cancer, HIV, TB or inflammatory arthritis; or leg pain with a fever, feeling unwell, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss or night sweats.
Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): new difficulty lifting the front of your foot or toes (foot drop), or a foot that slaps down or catches as you walk, especially if it is getting worse. Weakness in both legs, or with numbness around the genitals or bottom or bladder or bowel changes, is the 999 emergency above.
Call 999 or go to A&E now if you have a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) and very bad tummy pain, you feel sick or you're being sick, you cannot fart or poo, you have a high temperature or you feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Do not drive to A&E. With any other hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, feeling or being sick, vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds, constipation, a high temperature or feeling hot, cold or shivery, or sudden confusion, get help from NHS 111.
Call 999: sudden, severe pain in the tummy or back, which can come with breathlessness, pale or grey skin, or collapse. It can be a burst abdominal aortic aneurysm, most common in men aged 65 or over and in people who smoke or used to smoke.
Same day: you have or have had cancer, and new back pain that is severe and doesn't let up, is getting steadily worse, is worse at night and disturbs your sleep, is worse when you cough, sneeze or strain, or comes with tenderness over the spine. Contact your cancer team or GP urgently. With cancer, new weakness, difficulty walking, numbness or bladder or bowel problems are an emergency.
Contact your GP or midwife urgently: back pain in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, or back pain in pregnancy with a fever, vaginal bleeding, pain when you pee, or pain in one or more of your sides (under your ribs). It could be early labour or an infection.
Same day (call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you feel very unwell): after a big or unusual session, such as a first spin class, a workout of 100 back squats, or intervals of wall sits, squats, lunges and jumps, a challenge or a new class, muscle pain, swelling or weakness far worse than the session explains, and dark pee (red, brown, tea or cola coloured), sometimes starting hours or days later. Dark pee isn't always there, so muscles far sorer, more swollen or weaker than the session explains still need the same-day check. It can be rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Back pain that hasn't improved after a few weeks of looking after it at home, stops you doing day-to-day activities, worries you, or you're struggling to cope.
Pain, tingling or numbness spreading below the knee that isn't settling after a few weeks, is getting worse or stops your normal activities: see a GP.
Pain that doesn't improve with rest or is worse at night, or pain that is worse when you sneeze, cough or poo.
Unexplained weight loss, or a lump, swelling or change in the shape of your back.
A teenager or young adult whose low back pain is worse arching backwards and hasn't settled after a couple of weeks: stop the lifts that arch the back and get it checked by a GP or a sports medicine doctor or physiotherapist. It can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis), which usually does well without surgery when it's found.
A lump in the groin, upper thigh or tummy, especially one that appears when you cough or strain and goes when you lie down: see a GP, as it may be a true hernia. A femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of the thigh, mainly in women over 50, though it can happen to anyone) needs treating in hospital.
Sudden new back pain after a minor fall, lift, cough or sneeze, from 50 or past the menopause, or if you take long-term steroid tablets; or height loss, a curved spine or a change in posture: see a GP. It can be a spinal fracture.
Back pain that started before 45 and has lasted more than 3 months, especially if it started before 35, wakes you in the second half of the night, comes with buttock pain, gets better with movement or within 48 hours of anti-inflammatory painkillers, or you have or have had arthritis, pain where a tendon attaches to bone (enthesitis) or psoriasis, or a parent, brother, sister or child with spondyloarthritis. These can point to inflammatory back pain (axial spondyloarthritis, such as ankylosing spondylitis). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) asks GPs to refer people with 4 or more of these 9 features to a rheumatologist, and to do a blood test for the HLA-B27 gene marker if exactly 3 are present, referring if it is positive.
A strain that is getting worse, or isn't feeling better after looking after it yourself: see a GP or physiotherapist. In many areas you can refer yourself to physiotherapy.

Where does it hurt?

Location narrows the likely causes; it does not diagnose.

Across the lower back, both sides, a tiring ache during or after walking, weighted or many lunges

Usually the back muscles working hard, more with a big forward lean and walking lunges, or ordinary low back pain, the commonest kind. A dull ache a day or two later is soreness. Shorter, lighter sets usually help.

A sudden sharp twinge or catch during a rep, then stiff

Usually a strain, the commonest lifting injury. It eases over days to weeks.

Read: Back spasm and pulled back muscle →A pinch in the lower back at the bottom of a long lunge, worse arching or with the back hip pushed through

Often back pain that dislikes arching (our reading). A shorter stride and the ribs down usually help.

Read: Back pain bending backwards →One side, below the belt, by the dimple at the back of the pelvis, into the buttock, worse standing on one leg

The sacroiliac (SI) joint area. A physiotherapist can test for it; a scan can't.

Read: SI joint pain →Down one leg below the knee, with pins and needles or numbness

A trapped nerve (sciatica). Shrink any movement that sends it further down, and see the warning signs.

Read: Sciatica →A teenager or young adult whose back hurts more arching, building over weeks, in a sport that arches or twists the back

Possibly a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis): stop the arching lifts and get it checked. Most return to sport without surgery.

Read: Spondylolisthesis →The back of the pelvis, the buttock or the pubic bone, in pregnancy or after the birth, worse on one leg or with the legs apart

Pelvic girdle pain. Swap the lunge for moves with both feet level, and ask about a pelvic health physiotherapist.

Read: Pelvic girdle pain (SPD) →The front of the back hip, a stretch or pull at the bottom of the lunge

The hip flexors rather than the back. Our hip lunge guide covers the back hip.

Read: Hip pain when lunging →A deep pinch in the groin of the front leg at the bottom

Usually the hip joint running out of bend. Our hip lunge guide covers it.

Read: Hip pain when lunging →The front knee or the back knee

Our knee lunge guide covers the kneecap, the tendon and the back knee on the floor.

Read: Knee pain when lunging →

A lump in the groin or tummy that appears when you strain

Possibly a hernia: see the warning signs, which keep 999 for a femoral hernia with severe pain.

The lower back and the hip or buttock together, and not sure which

Our guide to back and hip pain together sorts them out.

Read: Lower back and hip pain →The same pain in squats, hip thrusts or on the leg press

Our back movement guides cover those lifts.

Read: Lower back pain after squats →Back and buttock stiffness for more than 30 minutes each morning, easing with exercise, from a young age

Possibly inflammatory back pain, which needs a GP: see the warning signs.

Read: Back pain →

Understand it

What a lunge asks of the lower back, and what no study has countedEmerging evidence

In a lunge the front hip bends and does most of the work, while the back leg's hip is pushed towards straight or beyond. The hip itself has only so much room. In 120 healthy young adults filmed on low-dose X-ray holding a lunge, with the front foot on a 40 cm step and the trunk upright, the back hip had about 16 degrees of extension in reserve on average, with a wide spread between people. The pelvis on average tipped slightly backward, though it tipped forward in people with a flatter lower spine.

So it is our reading, not a measured fact, that when the back hip runs out of room in a long, deep lunge, the lower back can arch to make up the difference. No study has measured the lower back in a moving lunge or in people with back pain. The trunk matters too: leaning forward moved work to the glutes and hamstrings in 10 adults, and its effect on the back muscles is mixed (more below). Holding a dumbbell on one side made the back muscles on the other side work harder in 42 athletes. No study counts back pain from lunges, so the map on this page is built from what each cause is known to do.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Where it hurts: the back muscles, the SI joint, a nerve and the pelvis in pregnancyEmerging evidence

An ache across the lower back after walking or weighted lunges is usually the back muscles working hard, or ordinary low back pain. Pain on one side below the belt, by the dimple at the back of the pelvis and into the upper buttock, is where the sacroiliac (SI) joint refers pain: in an injection study of 10 volunteers, the sore area ran about 10 cm down and 3 cm out from the dimple. It is recognised by a cluster of tests: 3 or more of 6 that bring on the usual pain picked out 94% of people whose pain an anaesthetic joint injection confirmed. A review puts the SI joint behind about 10% to 25% of persistent back pain felt below the waist; in athletes with back pain the figure was about a third, but the authors call it unreliable.

Pain, tingling or numbness travelling below the knee is a trapped nerve (sciatica), the NHS says. In pregnancy, pain at the back of the pelvis or the pubic bone, worse standing on one leg, on stairs and moving the legs apart, is pelvic girdle pain, which affects up to 1 in 5 pregnant women and isn't harmful to the baby. Neither the NHS nor the UK's pelvic health physiotherapists name lunges; they name standing on one leg and moving the legs apart, both parts of a lunge.

Sources 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Who gets it, and what is rareEmerging evidence

The lower back is one of the commonest sites of pain in the lifting sports, but injury rates are low, and strains are the commonest type: in US emergency departments the lower trunk made up about 1 in 5 weight-training injuries, and sprains or strains about half. In 104 powerlifters, the lower back and pelvis was the commonest current injury, and only 16% of the injured stopped training completely. None of these studies names lunges.

The people it usually bothers, in our reading: people new to lunges or lunge challenges, or who add walking lunges, weights or reps quickly; people who lunge with a long stride and a big lean; people whose back already hurts for other reasons; teenagers in sports that arch the back; and women in pregnancy. Hip differences are common in people with back pain, mostly less inward rotation and weaker hip muscles at the side and back, which is one reason the plan trains the hips.

Serious causes are rare. The NHS says that, very rarely, back pain is a sign of a serious problem such as a broken bone, cancer or an infection; the warning signs on this page pick these out without alarming everyone else.

Sources 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

When a scan helpsStrong evidence

Not for back pain from lunges without warning signs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says don't routinely offer imaging outside specialist care, and to consider it there only if the result is likely to change what is done. Scans mislead on their own: disc bulges showed in 30% of 20-year-olds and 84% of 80-year-olds without back pain, across 33 studies of 3,110 people. SI joint pain is recognised by a physiotherapist's cluster of tests rather than a scan. A teenager whose back hurts more arching needs a doctor's check, which may include imaging, and the warning signs come before any of this.

Sources 20, 21, 7, 8

How it usually goesStrong evidence

No study follows back pain from lunges. In new episodes of low back pain, average pain fell from 56 to 26 out of 100 within 6 weeks and was 21 at a year (moderate-certainty evidence), so it usually eases a lot, though a little often lingers; pain that has lasted more than 3 months changes more slowly. The NHS says back pain usually improves within a few weeks but can last longer or keep coming back.

Most powerlifters with back pain keep training with changes. Teenagers with a stress fracture of the spine usually return to sport without surgery: about 92% across 11 studies, on average after about 4.6 months in another review. No one can promise a date.

Sources 22, 19, 15, 23, 24

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

The stride and the back hip: our reading of an X-ray studyEmerging evidence

The back hip's own room to straighten averaged about 16 degrees, with a standard deviation of 9, in 120 healthy adults holding a lunge on X-ray. That a long stride then makes the lower back arch is our reading: in that study the pelvis on average tipped slightly backward, not forward, and nobody has measured the lower back in a moving lunge. A stride you can control and the back knee dropping straight down are coaching cues built on that reading. In 24 young men, six weeks of hip stretching raised the hip's range on a couch but not the range used in a lunge, which argues for practising the lunge itself.

Sources 1, 25

Leaning forward and where you hold the weight: mixed evidenceMixed evidence

In 12 trained women lunging with 30% of their body weight, leaning the trunk forward doubled the work of the lower back muscles (about 40% against 20% of a maximal effort), and walking lunges drew the most. We read this study as an abstract only. In 21 trained women doing body-weight Bulgarian split squats, a 40 degree lean didn't change back muscle work significantly. In 10 adults, leaning forward moved work to the glutes and hamstrings, and leaning back did nothing for the legs. So a slight lean is fine, and a big lean with a load is the part to turn down while the back is sore.

A dumbbell held on one side made the back and side muscles on the other side work harder in 42 athletes, while two dumbbells shared it evenly, and trunk muscle work in dumbbell lunges was modest. In 20 trained men, Bulgarian split squats with half the bar weight of back squats were just as hip-dominant; spinal load wasn't measured. None of these studies included people with back pain.

Sources 3, 4, 2, 5, 26

Stance width: hip-width feet are steadierEmerging evidence

In 15 trained men doing barbell split squats, feet in one line, like a tightrope, raised side-to-side sway under the front foot by about a quarter (19.4 against 14.8 cm) against hip-width feet, with the same leg muscle work. Nothing was measured at the back or pelvis, so a hip-width stance is a balance cue, not a tested back fix.

Source 27

Tight hip flexors and pelvic tilt: a weak storyMixed evidence

In 118 adults not seeking care, those with back pain had hip flexors about 4 degrees tighter, but the link vanished once body size was allowed for. Hip flexibility and strength didn't explain a forward-tipping pelvis in walking in people with back pain, and across 24 studies limited hip extension wasn't linked with back pain (only limited inward rotation was, on very low quality evidence).

Across 43 studies, people with back pain didn't have a bigger curve in the lower back or a more tipped pelvis standing than people without, and on X-ray they had, if anything, a slightly smaller curve. Some forward pelvic tilt is normal: 85% of 120 healthy young men and 75% of women had it. Stretching raised hip range on a couch but not in a lunge. So stretch the hip flexors if it feels good, but not as the fix.

Sources 28, 29, 18, 30, 31, 32, 25

Exercise helps back pain, and no type is clearly bestStrong evidence

In a Cochrane review of 249 trials, exercise eased long-lasting low back pain by about 15 points out of 100 against no treatment, usual care or a placebo (moderate-certainty evidence), and the harms reported were mostly minor soreness. Special core activation (motor control) exercise was no better than other exercise across 29 trials, so the choice should follow what you'll keep doing. The US physical therapy guideline (2021) recommends exercise training, including trunk strengthening and general exercise, and NICE suggests group exercise and continuing normal activities.

Strength training reduced back pain in 10 small trials (434 people), though the very large effects should be read cautiously; 30 people tolerated 16 weeks of free-weight training with pain falling by 72%, without a comparison group; and a weekly machine circuit added to group exercise didn't beat group exercise alone on pain. None of these tested lunges.

Sources 33, 34, 35, 20, 36, 37, 38

SI joint pain and pregnancy: few trialsEmerging evidence

A review of 9 small studies of low to average quality reported benefits from exercise, manipulation and taping for SI joint pain; there is no good trial of a particular exercise. In pregnancy, the NHS says keep active but avoid what makes the pain worse, and see a physiotherapist; the UK's pelvic health physiotherapists say movement and exercise reduce pain, to swap an exercise that causes discomfort, and not to push through activities that make the pain worse.

Sources 39, 11, 12, 40

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled within an hour, no worse the next morning, never down a legEmerging evidence

This guide uses the back hub's rule, as our other back movement guides do. Some discomfort during exercise is fine, and it does not mean you are doing damage. Aim for pain you would call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10. It should settle within an hour or so, and your back should be no worse the next morning. If it is worse, do less next time (fewer reps, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing. Leg symptoms are the exception: stop or shrink any movement that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down your leg. If leg symptoms move back towards your spine, that is a good sign, even if your back aches a little more for a while.

NHS inform's back exercises use the same bands (0 to 3 minimal, 4 to 5 acceptable, 6 to 10 excessive pain), aim to keep pain within 0 to 5, and say it should be no worse the morning after you've exercised. The NHS back pain page is stricter: stop if your pain gets worse and see a GP. In 7 trials (385 people) of long-lasting muscle and joint pain, exercise allowed to hurt a little gave a small short-term benefit over pain-free exercise and no difference later.

For lunges (our suggestion, built on the same rule): judge each set by its last reps, and use the step of the ladder (split squat, reverse lunge, forward lunge, walking lunge, then weighted and Bulgarian lunges), the stride, the depth and the load where your back stays at 5 out of 10 or less, settles within an hour and is no worse the next morning. If it isn't, go back one step, not to nothing. Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down a leg, a pinch that sharpens with each rep, or any warning sign isn't a pain-rule question: stop that movement and see the warning signs.

Sources 41, 19, 42

The exercise plan: 3 stages

Start at the first stage. Each move opens a full guide with a 3D demo.

Stage 1

Keep moving, take the long, loaded lunge out

About the first 2 weeks, with walking every day and 2 or 3 short sessions a week: settle the back without resting in bed, keep the legs working in a short split squat, and start the trunk and hip work. No walking, weighted, barbell or jumping lunges for now. With a diagnosed condition (sciatica or a disc, a stress fracture or slipped vertebra, SI joint or pelvic girdle pain, a hernia or a repair, osteoporosis), that guide's plan comes first; after surgery, your team's plan does.

Treadmill walking demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoTreadmill walkingBeginner · Cardio machine

5 to 10 minutes, several times a day · As in our back movement guides (editorial); walking outdoors counts the same. The NHS says stay active and don't stay in bed for long

Harder: Treadmill jogging

Split squat demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 8 each leg, a short range, fingertips on a wall · As in our knee lunge guide (editorial). Let the back knee drop straight down and keep the ribs down

Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Reverse lunge

Pelvic tilt into bridge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoPelvic tilt into bridgeBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 at a time, every hour, adding 1 or 2 every few days, then 2 sets of 8 with a minute's rest, 2 to 3 times a day, up to 2 sets of 15; hold the tilt 2 seconds · NHS inform's pelvic tilt and its pacing for back exercises

Harder: Glute bridge

3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 each side, 3 to 5 s holds · As in our back pain guide (editorial)

Easier: Bird dog, one limb at a time · Harder: Bear crawl

Dead bug heel taps demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDead bug heel tapsBeginner · No equipment

2 sets of 6 to 8 each side · As in our back pain guide (editorial)

Easier: Bent-knee fall-out · Harder: Forearm plank

Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHalf-kneeling hip flexor stretchBeginner · No equipment

Optional: hold 20 to 30 s, 2 to 3 times each side, a pad under the knee · NHS inform's stretch hold. Tuck the tailbone so the stretch stays at the front of the hip, not the lower back. For comfort: stretching didn't change the lunge in a trial

Harder: Couch stretch

Move on when: You can walk for 15 to 20 minutes and get through daily tasks, split squats pass the pain rule, and your back is no worse the next morning, for a week (editorial, as in our back movement guides).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 2

Rebuild the lunge, stepping back

About weeks 2 to 6, 2 or 3 sessions a week, with walking on most days: reverse lunges to your usual depth with a controlled stride, one-legged hip strength, and a trunk that resists bending and twisting.

Reverse lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoReverse lungeIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 8 each leg, a short range first, a controlled stride · As in our knee lunge guide (editorial)

Easier: Split squat · Harder: Split squat with dumbbells

Staggered-stance bridge (offset bridge) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStaggered-stance bridge (offset bridge)Beginner · No equipment

5 slow repetitions each side once a day, building to 2 sets of 5 to 10 at a somewhat hard effort · The move page's dose, from the LEAP hip trial's programme

Easier: Pelvic tilt into bridge · Harder: Single-leg glute bridge

Single-leg Romanian deadlift demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSingle-leg Romanian deadliftAdvanced · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 each leg, fingertips on a wall at first · As in our squatting guides (editorial)

Easier: Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Knee side plank demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoKnee side plankBeginner · No equipment

3 holds of 15 to 20 s each side · As in our back pain guide (editorial)

Harder: Side plank

Half-kneeling Pallof press demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHalf-kneeling Pallof pressBeginner · A band + An anchor point

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 each side · As in our back pain guide (editorial)

Harder: Pallof press

Suitcase carry demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSuitcase carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell

3 walks of 20 m each side, standing tall · As in our SI joint guide (editorial)

Easier: Farmer's carry · Harder: Overhead carry (waiter's walk)

Move on when: Reverse lunges to your usual depth pass the pain rule for 3 sets of 8 to 10 each leg, and your back is fine the next morning, for a week (editorial).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 3

Back to walking and loaded lunges

From about week 6, later after sciatica: forward and walking lunges, then load, one change at a time by the written steps below. No study has tested a return to lunges after back pain; the order follows our lunge guides' ladder and is editorial.

Bodyweight walking lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBodyweight walking lungeIntermediate · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 steps each leg, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · The move page's dose (an editorial starting point)

Easier: Bodyweight squat · Harder: Barbell walking lunge

Dumbbell reverse lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell reverse lungeIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, a dumbbell in each hand, trunk upright · Editorial

Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Barbell walking lunge

Dumbbell lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell lungeIntermediate · A dumbbell

3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, a dumbbell in each hand · Editorial

Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Barbell walking lunge

Rear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box

2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 each leg · As in our knee lunge guide (editorial). Use a lower bench if your back arches or the front of the back hip pulls

Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Split squat jump

Barbell lunge demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBarbell lungeIntermediate · A barbell

Only if you used it before, last: 3 sets of 6 to 8 each leg with a light bar · Editorial

Easier: Reverse lunge · Harder: Barbell walking lunge

3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment

2 sets of 8 each side, twice a week, kept up · Editorial

Easier: Bird dog, one limb at a time · Harder: Bear crawl

Move on when: Your usual lunge sessions pass the pain rule for 2 weeks. If it flares after a big session, go back a stage for a few days, not to nothing (editorial).

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

What to change for now

Your lunge for now (written steps)

Our 3D figure can't show all of these. They come from lab studies of healthy people, the site's lunge guides and the NHS; where a step is our suggestion or editorial, it says so. No trial has tested a change to the lunge for back pain.

1. Split squats (both feet planted) and reverse lunges before forward, walking and weighted lunges, as the site's lunge guides teach. Walking lunges drew the most lower back muscle work in one study.
2. A stride you can control, with the back knee dropping straight down under the hip rather than the back hip pushed forward into a deep stretch. The back hip has limited room to straighten; that the lower back arches to make up for it is our reading.
3. The ribs down and a light brace (editorial); a slight forward lean is fine, but not a big lean with a weight while it's sore.
4. Feet hip-width apart, like railway tracks rather than a tightrope, for balance.
5. A dumbbell in each hand, or one held at your chest, rather than one weight on one side; no barbell on your back for now (editorial).
6. Less depth first, then depth before load, and load before speed (editorial).
7. Fewer sets, with rest days between leg sessions, and no lunge challenges for now (editorial).
8. Daily life: the NHS says stay active and carry on with your daily activities, and don't stay in bed for long periods.

Sources 3, 1, 27, 5, 19

Pregnancy, teenagers and leg symptoms

In pregnancy, standing on one leg and moving the legs apart bring on pelvic girdle pain, the NHS and the UK's pelvic health physiotherapists say, so swap lunges and split stances for moves with both feet level, such as a shallow wall sit, and ask about a pelvic health physiotherapist (our suggestion for the swap). A teenager whose back hurts more arching needs a check before lunging resumes; most with a stress fracture return to sport without surgery. With pain or tingling down a leg, keep to the range that doesn't send it further down.

Sources 11, 12, 23, 10

Back to your usual training (written steps)

No study has tested how lunges come back after back pain, so these steps are our suggestion unless a source is named.

1. Walking every day from the start, as the NHS advises.
2. Gardening and floor jobs: half-kneel on a pad with your trunk upright, or kneel on both knees, and change sides often; long, low lunges come back last.
3. Lifting at work and carrying shopping: two bags rather than one heavy one on one side, held close.
4. Running and hiking: shorter strides and flatter routes first; hills and long downhill strides last.
5. Classes, circuits and lunge challenges: reverse lunges in place of walking or jumping lunges until the third stage passes; jumping lunges last.
6. Keep two strength sessions a week with a hinge, a single-leg move and trunk work for a few months after the pain has gone.

Sources 5, 19

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Walking lunges and lunge challenges while it's sore	Walking lunges drew the most lower back muscle work in a lab study.	Reverse lunges.Try: Reverse lunge
A very long stride with the back hip pushed through	The back hip has limited room to straighten; that the lower back arches to make up for it is our reading of an X-ray study.	A controlled stride, the back knee dropping straight down.Try: Split squat
A big forward lean with weights	It doubled lower back muscle work in one study of loaded lunges, though a split squat study found no change.	A slight lean, and a lighter weight held at your chest.
One heavy dumbbell on one side	The back muscles on the other side work harder.	A dumbbell in each hand.Try: Dumbbell reverse lunge
A barbell on your back while it's sore	It adds load through the spine (editorial).	Dumbbells first, and the bar last.Try: Dumbbell lunge
Feet in one line, like a tightrope	It added about a quarter more side-to-side sway in a lab study.	Feet hip-width apart.
Hard lunge stretches to fix tight hip flexors	Stretching didn't change the lunge in a trial, and the link between tight hip flexors and back pain is weak.	A gentle half-kneeling stretch, for comfort.Try: Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch
Training through pain or tingling down a leg	That is a nerve, and the back hub's rule says stop or shrink the movement that sends it further down.	The first-stage moves, and a GP if it lasts.Try: Bird dog
Lunges and split stances in pregnancy with pelvic pain	Standing on one leg and moving the legs apart bring on pelvic girdle pain, the NHS says.	Moves with both feet level, such as a shallow wall sit.Try: Wall sit
Bed rest and long spells sitting	The NHS says don't stay in bed for long periods.	Walking, little and often.Try: Treadmill walking
A belt as the treatment	NICE says don't offer belts or corsets for low back pain.	The staged plan.

Routines to follow

Learn to lunge: split squat to walking lunge

A 25-minute session from the split squat to the walking lunge: ankle and balance prep, slow split squats, reverse lunges, then walking lunges.

25 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A bench or box

Beginner core workout

A 15-minute beginner core workout on the floor: dead bugs, bird dogs, knee planks, side planks and curl-ups.

15 minBeginner6 movesNo equipment

McGill big 3 core routine

The McGill big three for the core: curl-ups, side planks and bird dogs, each held for 10 seconds at a time in falling sets of 5, 3 and 1 reps.

12 minBeginner3 movesNo equipment

Lower back strengthening workout: bird dogs to supermans, no equipment

A 20-minute floor workout for your back muscles: bird dogs and bridges, then a face-down ladder from the locust to the superman, with side planks and dead bugs.

20 minBeginner13 movesNo equipment

Tight hip flexors routine: stretch, then strengthen

Hips that feel tight: a tucked hip flexor stretch, then band knee drives, leg raises, dead bugs, bridges and lunges. Strength through range loosens hips too.

15 minBeginner8 movesA band, An anchor point

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Why does my lower back hurt when I do lunges?

Often because a long stride with the back hip pushed through makes the lower back arch, or because a big lean or a weight on one side makes the back muscles work harder. The first is our reading of an X-ray study, and the evidence on the lean is mixed. A controlled stride, the ribs down, a slight lean and a dumbbell in each hand usually help.

Why does my back hurt when I do reverse lunges?

Often the same arch at the bottom, with the back leg reaching too far behind. Shorten the step a little and let the back knee drop straight down. Reverse lunges are still usually gentler than walking lunges.

Why does my lower back hurt after walking lunges?

Walking lunges drew the most lower back muscle work in a lab study, so a tired, achy back afterwards is common. A dull ache that fades within a few days is soreness; sharp or lasting pain is more often a strain.

Can lunges cause lower back pain?

They can bring it on, usually through the stride, the lean, the load or a sudden jump in reps. But no study links lunges to back injury, and injury rates in lifting are low.

Are lunges good for lower back pain?

They can be part of getting better: exercise helps back pain, and no single type is clearly best. Start with split squats and reverse lunges in a range that passes the pain rule.

Is it my SI joint?

If it's on one side, below the belt, by the dimple at the back of the pelvis and into the buttock, it may be. A physiotherapist can test for it with a cluster of tests; a scan can't diagnose it.

Do tight hip flexors cause back pain in lunges?

The evidence says only weakly, if at all: the link vanished once body size was allowed for, and limited hip extension wasn't linked with back pain across 24 studies. Stretch them if it feels good, but stretching didn't change how people moved in a lunge.

Should I lean forward or stay upright?

A slight lean is fine and works your glutes more. One study found a big lean with weights doubled the work of the lower back muscles, though another found no change without weights. Stay fairly tall while it's sore.

Can I do lunges with sciatica?

Only in a range that doesn't send pain further down your leg: the back hub's rule says stop or shrink any movement that does. Split squats in a short range are the place to start, and leg weakness that's getting worse needs checking the same day.

Should I stop lunging?

Change the lunge rather than stop, starting with split squats and reverse lunges. The NHS says stay active, and most lifters with back pain keep training with changes.

How long will it take?

No one can promise a date. New back pain more than halved within 6 weeks on average in the studies, and the NHS says it usually improves within a few weeks.

When should I see a doctor?

Call 999 for numbness around your genitals or bottom, new bladder or bowel trouble, or weakness or numbness in both legs. Get help the same day for back pain with a fever or feeling unwell, after a fall, or with leg weakness that's getting worse, and see a GP if it isn't better after a few weeks. In the US, call 911 where this page says 999.

Related exercise guides

Sources

Exercise education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is written from the guidelines and studies listed above; review by a clinician is pending. If your pain follows an injury, is severe, is getting worse, or comes with any warning sign listed on this page, get it assessed. Health disclaimer.

When to get help first

Get urgent medical help if

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Where does it hurt?

Understand it

What a lunge asks of the lower back, and what no study has countedEmerging evidence

Where it hurts: the back muscles, the SI joint, a nerve and the pelvis in pregnancyEmerging evidence

Who gets it, and what is rareEmerging evidence

When a scan helpsStrong evidence

How it usually goesStrong evidence

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

The stride and the back hip: our reading of an X-ray studyEmerging evidence

Leaning forward and where you hold the weight: mixed evidenceMixed evidence

Stance width: hip-width feet are steadierEmerging evidence

Tight hip flexors and pelvic tilt: a weak storyMixed evidence

Exercise helps back pain, and no type is clearly bestStrong evidence

SI joint pain and pregnancy: few trialsEmerging evidence

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled within an hour, no worse the next morning, never down a legEmerging evidence

The exercise plan: 3 stages

Keep moving, take the long, loaded lunge out

Rebuild the lunge, stepping back

Back to walking and loaded lunges

What to change for now

Your lunge for now (written steps)

Pregnancy, teenagers and leg symptoms

Back to your usual training (written steps)

Positions to swap, and why

Routines to follow

Learn to lunge: split squat to walking lunge

Beginner core workout

McGill big 3 core routine

Lower back strengthening workout: bird dogs to supermans, no equipment

Tight hip flexors routine: stretch, then strengthen

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources